The Great Chicago Fire

Home , DeKoven Street (Chicago), Great Chicago Fire

rd 3 Grade Social Sciences ILS—16A, 16C, 16D, 17A The Great Chicago Fire How did the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871 change the way people designed and constructed buildings in the city? Vocabulary This lesson assumes that students already know the basic facts about the Chicago Fire. The lesson is designed to help students think about what happened after the load-bearing method a method of fire died out and Chicagoans started to rebuild their city. construction where bricks that form the walls support the structure Theme skeleton frame system a method This lesson helps students investigate how the fire resulted in a change of the of construction where a steel frame construction methods and materials of buildings. By reading first-hand accounts, acts like the building’s skeleton to support the weight of the structure, using historic photographs, and constructing models, students will see how the and bricks or other materials form the people of Chicago rebuilt their city. building’s skin or outer covering

story floors or levels of a building Student Objectives • write from the point of view of a person seen in photographs taken shortly after conflagration a large the Great Chicago Fire destructive ﬁre • distinguish between fact and opinion point of view trying to imagine Grade Social Sciences

how another person might see or rd • differentiate between a primary source and a secondary source 3 understand something • discover and discuss the limitations and potential of load-bearing and skeleton frame construction methods primary source actual records that 31 • respond to questions and make inferences about the growth of the American have survived from the past, such as skyscraper and its connection to inventions from the industrial era letters, photographs, census data, oral histories, and maps Activities secondary source memories of • observe, analyze, and interpret two well-known historic Chicago photographs the past created by people recalling the events some time after they • build models of pre-fire and post-fire buildings using the two different happened; secondary sources use construction methods primary sources to create a story • interpret a graph to understand the change (and reasons for the change) in building through writing, film, lectures, The Great Chicago Fire The heights after the fire or exhibits; projects completed by students are examples of Type secondary sources • indoor, desktop activities fact something that actually • optional: field trips to important Chicago Fire sites happened or existed opinion something that you think Timeframe is true, although not everyone may five class sessions of 40 minutes each agree with you

Materials • approximately 20 wooden blocks, 20 small boxes, or 20 sugar cubes (per small student group) • two bags of stale mini-marshmallows and several boxes of toothpicks; or a set of Tinker Toys® • roll of aluminum foil • Handout A - K-W-H-L chart • Handout B - photograph of the Water Tower from post-ﬁre Chicago

Schoolyards to Skylines © 2002 Chicago Architecture Foundation Materials (continued) • Handout C - map showing path of the Great Chicago Fire • Handout D - comparing the load-bearing method with a skeleton frame system • Handout E - questions and chart showing growth of the American skyscraper • Handout F - photograph of city re-building after the ﬁre

Teacher Prep • photocopy Handouts A and E (one per student) • photocopy or scan Handouts B, C, D, and F for display or projection • prepare the marshmallows by allowing them to sit out on a tray for a day Interdisciplinary (stale marshmallows make sturdier building materials, and students are less likely to eat them) Connections Health / Safety Tie this lesson in with Fire Safety Week at your school. Background Information for Teacher Language Arts Ask students to write a letter Building construction methods: Chicago Pre-Fire vs. Chicago Post-Fire to Mrs. O’Leary and her family In Chicago before 1871, most residential and smaller commercial buildings were The Chicago Fire Great describing present-day Chicago. constructed from wood. Sidewalks throughout the city also were made from wood. Include drawings. Those combustible materials combined with the hot dry summer led, inevitably, to the Chicago Fire that began on October 8, 1871.

Larger commercial buildings constructed before the Chicago Fire were built using a type of construction called the load-bearing method. When one brick is stacked on top of another, the bricks on the bottom support and carry the weight of the bricks on the top. But this method severely limited how tall the buildings could 32 be designed and built. As the building reached higher, the walls at the bottom had to be made thicker to support all the weight of the building. As the walls at the 3

rd bottom were made thicker, there was less space between the walls for usable rooms. Grade Social Sciences A further problem arose because floors and ceilings were constructed of wood: if the building caught ﬁre, the interior would burn quickly and lead to the collapse of bricks on the exterior.

After the Chicago Fire, the City passed laws that prevented most public buildings from being constructed out of wood. The City decreed that architects needed to design “fireproof” buildings. Although brick and stone were fireproof, these materials limited the heights of buildings. Cast iron, which had been used in construction since 1850, allowed greater flexibility in height and building design. But cast iron melted quite easily in a fire. By the mid 1880s, a stronger material called steel had been perfected. Steel dramatically increased how high buildings could be built. Steel was stronger, lighter, and more resistant to melting than any other building material.

Steel enabled architects to overcome the height limitation of the load-bearing construction method. Rather than stacking brick upon brick, the new method of construction used steel to create a frame or skeleton. This method of construction is known as the skeleton frame system. Walls at the base of the building no longer needed to get thicker in order to support the weight of the building because the

Schoolyards to Skylines © 2002 Chicago Architecture Foundation steel frame or skeleton was now doing the work. Bricks and other masonry were still used in this new method of construction, only now they were solely used as the skin or outer covering of the building or as ornamentation: they did not help to support the building. (This method of construction is similar to a tower that is made of toothpicks held together with mini-marshmallows and then covered with aluminum foil.) Chicago claims the very ﬁrst skyscraper, the 10-story Home Insurance Building, designed by William Le Baron Jenney and built in 1885 and demolished in 1931. Skyscrapers built today still use the skeleton frame system.

Resources Children of the Fire, Harriette Gillem Robinet. New York: Athenaeum, 1991. This historical ﬁction book is about an African-American girl The effect of the load-bearing method and later change to skeleton frame system named Hallelujah who lived at South State Street and 12th Street. The story, can be seen at the Monadnock Building, 53 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, told from her perspective, tells of the which is the tallest masonry-supported structure in the world. At the north end challenges she and her family faced (1891) of the building, the load-bearing exterior walls are 6-feet thick, and the as they survived the Great Chicago glass window panes are deeply recessed. In contrast, the walls at south section of Fire. Although the book is written at th the building are thinner and the glass window panes are not recessed. The south approximately a 5 grade level, you might choose to read portions of it section of the building was constructed two years later with a skeleton frame. aloud to your class.

For information about terra cotta, which is another important ﬁreproof building material “Did the Cow Do It? A New Look Grade Social Sciences

at the Great Chicago Fire” in

in Chicago history, see the Fine Arts lesson for Third Grade. rd Illinois Historical Journal, Spring, 3 1997, Richard F. Bales. For information about how buildings stand up, see the Science lesson for Third Grade. 33 The Great Chicago Fire: In Eyewitness Accounts and 70 For information about the ﬁrst skyscraper (the 10-story Home Insurance Building), see Contemporary Photographs the Language Arts lesson for Third Grade. and Illustrations, David Lowe, ed. New York: Dover Publications, 1979. Although this book is aimed at adults, the amazing pictures will capture the Activity Procedures attention of your students. The Great Fire, Jim Murphy.

day one and day two New York: Scholastic Inc., 1995. Great Chicago Fire The This student-friendly book is a Give each student a copy of the K-W-H-L chart in Handout A and fill in the wonderful resource for teaching the 1 Chicago Fire. Maps, photographs, blanks together as a class. drawings, and portions of a diary by Claire Innes, a young girl who - What do they Know about buildings built before and after the Great Chicago survived the fire, make this book a Fire of October 1871? solid teaching tool. A recording of - What do they Want to know about these buildings? the book is also available. - How can they find out more information? - What have they Learned? (As a follow-up to the lesson.)

Read the following quotation to your class as you display the photograph 2 of the Water Tower from Handout B that was taken a few days after the ﬁre near the corner of North Michigan Avenue and Chicago Avenue. Discuss which of his statements are facts and which statements are opinions. Explain the differences between primary sources and secondary sources to your students. Point out the examples (letters, photographs, and charts) of both types throughout the lesson.

“The first thing we did [after the fire] was to send off our wives and families into the country, and then set to work to relieve those who could not help themselves. I never had my clothes off or slept in a bed till after the tenth day. That was when we knew the water supply was on again, which took off the tension, as we were all afraid the fire might break out again. There were thousands like myself. It was not a time for sleep but for work, and [people] worked then as they had never done before, giving first attention to others rather than themselves.” (from America in 1876, John Leng. Dundee, Great Britain: Dundee Advertiser, 1877, p. 73-83.)

Use the map on Handout C to help students understand how and where Illinois Learning Standards 3 the ﬁre spread. Compare where the ﬁre started (137 DeKoven Street) with and Benchmarks the scene from Handout B on North Michigan Avenue. Have students locate both

places on the map. 16A Apply the skills of historical analysis and interpretation. Use the “point of view” questions and writing activities listed below to spark 16.A.2a Read historical stories and 4 discussion about the photograph on Handout B. determine events which influence their writing. Observation

The Chicago Fire Great 16.A.2b Compare different stories • How many people are shown? about a historical figure or event • Describe where each person is standing or sitting. and analyze differences in the portrayals and perspectives they • How are the people arranged? present. • What other interesting details can you see in the photograph? 16.A.2c Ask questions and seek answers by collecting and analyzing Interpretation data from historic documents, • When do you think the photograph was taken? images, and other literary and non- • Where do you think the photograph was taken? literary sources. • What’s going on in this photograph? 34 16C Understand the development • What might the reason be that the people are gathered together?

3 of economic systems. • Do you think the two women in the photograph knew the group of men standing rd Grade Social Sciences 16.C.2c (US) Describe significant nearby? Why or why not? economic events including • Do you think the photograph was posed or do you think the people just happened industrialization, immigration, the to be standing there in that position when the photographer came along? Great Depression, the shift to a • What kind of buildings do you think had been around the site of the Water Tower service economy and the rise of and Pumping Station before the Fire? technology that influenced history from the industrial development era to the present. Analysis Choose one of the people in the photograph to study and think about. 16D Understand Illinois, United • Who were they? States and world social history. • What do you think their job was? 16.D.2c (US) Describe the • What were they thinking when the photograph was taken? influence of key individuals and • If you could travel back in time and ask them one question about what they groups in the historical eras of Illinois and the United States. experienced in the three days before the photo was taken, what would you want to know? 17A Locate, describe and explain places, regions and features on Suggestions for writing and speaking activities the Earth. • Write a journal entry from the point of view of a person in the photograph. What 17.A.2b Use maps and other are they thinking? Who are they? What should they do now in these days after the geographic representations and ﬁre? What happened to their home, family, business, etc.? instruments to gather information about people, places and • Have students come up to the front of the class and take turns telling their environments. neighbors (the class) what they saw on Michigan Avenue after the ﬁre, how they felt, and what others around them were thinking. Encourage students to practice their oral presentation at home in front of family members or a mirror. Remind them that writing and using note cards will be helpful.

Divide the class into small groups of three or four students. Distribute two 5 sets of building materials to each group:

Block set - a stack of approximately 20 wooden blocks or 20 small boxes or 20 sugar cubes

Marshmallow set - a large handful of stale mini-marshmallows and many toothpicks (or some Tinker Toys®), and sheets of aluminum foil

Distribute the Block set and ask each group to build a structure with the 6 blocks / boxes / cubes. Give them time to enjoy exploring and discovering as they build. After they have ﬁnished, discuss how the blocks at the bottom support and carry the weight of the blocks on the top. Have students imagine their building blocks are bricks. Explain that this type of construction is called the load-bearing method. Most large commercial buildings constructed before the Chicago Fire were built using this method, and the bricks limited how tall the buildings could be. The walls at the bottom had to be very thick to support all the weight of the structure, which left less space between the walls for rooms inside.

Then distribute the marshmallow set and ask each group to build a structure 7 with the marshmallows, toothpicks, and aluminum foil. After they have ﬁnished, discuss how the toothpicks represent a steel frame in a building, the marshmallows represent the bolts and welds that hold the frame together, and Grade Social Sciences

the aluminum foil represents the outside material or the ‘skin’ that covers the rd 3 frame. Make a connection between their own bodies that have a skeleton and skin. Explain that this type of construction is called the skeleton frame system. The 35 foil covers the building but doesn’t help to hold up the building. After the Chicago Fire, people in the city were very worried about another ﬁre. Therefore, laws were passed to require buildings to be more ﬁreproof. Iron and steel were used in both walls and floors.

Use Handout D to show Chicago examples and explain the similarities and 8 differences between the two structures students have built. Discuss their results and ﬁnal designs. The Great Chicago Fire The day four

Distribute Handout E that shows the changing height of skyscrapers in 9 America. Talk through and answer the questions provided on the handout. Incorporate ideas learned the previous day about building with the load-bearing method versus the skeleton frame system. day five

Read the following quotation to your class as you display the photograph 10 from Handout F that was taken a few months after the ﬁre near the corner of West Lake Street and North LaSalle Street. (The site is currently near the James R. Thompson Center that houses state agencies.) Use the quotation as a starting point for a discussion about how the people of Chicago rebuilt their city after the ﬁre. Compare Sir John Leng’s 1871 letter with this one four years later. Discuss which of his statements are facts and which statements are opinions.

“There are miles of streets consisting of blocks [of buildings] five, six, seven, and eight stories high. The thoroughfares are crowded, busy, and bustling, and abounding signs of life and energy in the people and their modes of trading are everywhere apparent. Imagine a city of which all the principal public buildings... Post-Office, railway stations, banks, hotels, newspaper offices, warehouses, and shops – were completely burnt down in a conflagration [i.e., fire] that raged for three days and nights over four square miles of ground, and imagine all these replaced, in the course of five years, by much finer and more costly buildings, and you are enabled to form some idea of the wonderful activity that characterizes the Chicago people.” ( from America in 1876, John Leng. Dundee, Great Britain: Dundee Advertiser, 1877, p. 73-83.)

Use the “point of view” questions listed below to spark discussion about the 11 photograph in Handout F.

Observation • How many people are shown? • Describe where each person is standing. The Chicago Fire Great • What other interesting details can you see in the photograph?

Interpretation • When do you think the photograph was taken? • Where do you think the photograph was taken? • What’s going on in this photograph? • What is happening to the buildings?

Analysis 36 Choose one of the people in the photograph to study and think about.

3 • Who were they? rd Grade Social Sciences • What do you think their job was? • What were they thinking when the photograph was taken? • If you could travel back in time to Chicago, 1871, and ask these people one question about the rebuilding projects they are working on, what would you want to know?

Extensions • V isit the site of ﬁre’s beginnings at 137 DeKoven Street, now the site of the Chicago Fire Academy. A flame-shaped sculpture and a plaque now mark the spot. Talk to your students about the significance of locating the Fire Academy on this particular site. Read portions of the diary of Claire Innes, a young girl who survived the fire, reprinted in The Great Fire by Jim Murphy.

Schoolyards to Skylines © 2002 Chicago Architecture Foundation • U se historic photographs copied onto plastic transparencies to recreate the experience of standing where an historical event took place. The photograph of the Water Tower in Handout B was taken near 700 North Michigan Avenue (west side of the street, south of Chicago Avenue, looking north). You can stand there now and view how the area has changed since the fire. Have students hold up the transparency with the historic photo and view the present-day scene through it. Visually line up the photograph of the Water Tower with the actual Water Tower. Discuss and document what has changed and what has remained the same.

• The Chicago History Museum has a permanent exhibit and an online exhibit on the Great Chicago Fire that includes many artifacts such as melted objects, record Grade Social Sciences

books, and newspapers from the days following the fire. Contact them about a visit rd or for more information: Clark Street at North Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60614 3 Telephone 312.642.4600 www.greatchicagofire.org 37 • Take a bus field trip with your class to understand how much of the city was burned in the fire. Travel along the western edge of the fire area noting the spread of the fire. Begin from the southern starting point at 137 DeKoven Street, travel north along Halsted Street, over the river, and up to Fullerton Avenue. Turn east on Fullerton and stop at Lincoln Park and discuss the map on Handout C. Complete the journey by traveling south along Lake Shore Drive back to Roosevelt Road. Record the bus’ odometer to determine the perimeter of the

vast area that was burned. Great Chicago Fire The

• The Aurora Regional Fire Museum has exhibits, collections, tours, and educational resources on the history of Aurora and surrounding area fire departments. Contact them about a visit or for more information: P.O. Box 1782, Aurora, Illinois 60507. Telephone 630.892.1572 www.auroraregionalfiremuseum.org

K-W-H-L chart about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871

What do we Know about buildings What do we Want to know about How can we find out more What have we Learned? built before and after the Chicago these buildings? information? Fire of October 1871 Handout A Handout 2002 Chicago Architecture Foundation 2002 Chicago Architecture ©

Schoolyards to SkylinesSchoolyards

Social Sciences

The Great Chicago Fire 38 Handout B , ICH i -13918) (C hicago H istorical S ociety Social Sciences

39 The Great Chicago Fire The A view looking north along Michigan Avenue showing the Water Tower at Chicago Avenue after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 . Chicago Fire after the Great at Chicago Avenue Tower showing the Water A view looking north along Michigan Avenue

Path of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 The Chicago Fire Great

40 Social Sciences

above A map showing the area of the city burned by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. (CAF, adapted from an 1871 map in the collection of the Chicago Historical Society.)

(CAF, P hoto by J ean L insner , 2002) (CAF, Social Sciences A model of a load-bearing system construction using bricks

41 (CAF C ollection ) The Great Chicago Fire The The north half of the Monadnock Building that was built with a load-bearing method construction. A building under construction using a skeleton frame system. left right

A model of a skeleton frame system construction using marshmallows and toothpicks top top

The Growth of the American Skyscraper

100

90 america 80 in

70 building 60 tallest

50 the

30 The Chicago Fire Great stories

of 20

number 10

1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930

year

Social Sciences electric elevator

first use of steel frames in buildings Chicago Fire

first use of iron frames in buildings

1. Approximately how many stories tall was the tallest building in America in 1870, before the Chicago Fire?

2. From the information on the chart, what two important inventions in technology occurred after the Chicago Fire of 1871 and allowed buildings to become much taller?

3. The height of the tallest building in America stayed below 20 stories for many years. Approximately what year was there a big change in building heights?

4. Why do you think the use of steel made a big difference in how tall buildings could be built?

5. Why do you think the elevator made such a big difference in constructing taller buildings?

6. Approximately what year was the electric elevator invented and used in tall buildings?

above A chart showing the growth of the American skyscraper. (CAF Collection)

43 The Great Chicago Fire The

A view of Lake Street looking east from LaSalle Street showing workers rebuilding the city after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. (Chicago Historical Society, ICHi-02845)